Article of the Month in 2023

FIG publishes each month the Article of the Month. This is a high-level paper focusing on interesting topic to all surveyors. This article can be picked up from an FIG conference or another event or it can be a paper written directly for this purpose.

• December 2023 is wrtitten by Ken Lyons, Australia, Simulation Models to Test Improvement Proposals in Land Administration Before Investing The paper was presented at the FIG Working Week 2023 and shows how Simulation models (digital twins) can be built and used to test proposed improvements for effectiveness and sustainability, before the final investment decision is made.

• November 2023 is written by Umbidzai Chivizhe, Juliana Useya and Reason Mlambo, Zimbabwe. Damage And Loss Assessment Due To Tropical Cyclone Idai’s Flooding Events In Chimanimani District The paper was presented at the FIG Working Week 2023 and is a study about the damage and loss which came as a result of flooding in Chimanimani district due to tropical cyclone Idai in March 2019.

• October 2023 is a video recording from the FIG Working Week 2023 plenary session Mickey Ng Nok Hang, Young Surveyors Network. Smarter Working in Digital Transformation "Fasten the seatbelts and get to new heights" says Mickey, presenting a perspective of the younger generation through a combination of technological innovation and new ways of thinking.

• September 2023 is a video recording from the FIG Working Week 2023 plenary session Russell Romanella, USA: United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Russell Romanella explores the current Human and Robotic Exploration Missions within NASA. He explores NASA's exploration of the solar system and beyond including Mars, Saturn, the asteroid belt, and NASA’s plan to return to the Moon and on to Mars.

• August 2023 is a paper written by Johnson Oguntuase, Uchenna Nwankwo, Stephan Howden, USA: Affordable GNSS PPP Results as Constraints for Pressure Time Series Offshore. This peer reviewed paper was presented at the FIG Working Week 2023 and awarded with the NavXperience Prize. In the article the authors describe a new water level measurement technique for tidal datum extension at offshore locations in addressing vandalization challenges with GNSS buoys. 

• July 2023 is a recording of the FIG Working Week 2023 plenary session: Clarissa Augustinus: Global Land Outlook and Protecting our World. In this introduction and recording that is offered to you in this "Video of the Month Series" Clarissa Augustinus outlines some of the key climate challenges facing our planet and the vital role that surveyors play in addressing the climate crisis.

• June 2023 is a recording of the FIG Congress 2022 Keynote: How the Land profession skills may thrive in the post 2020 pandemic world - Insights from across the Generations: Geography, Governance and Volunteering A panel of different generations with Victoria STANLEY, Marc VANDERSCHUEREN, Israel TAIWO, Shirley CHAPUNZA and Tomasz MALINOWSKI  share their insights on how all four of the generations in the work place will shape the next normal.

• May 2023 is a recording of the FIG Congress 2022 Keynote: Mapping the Plastic. Gordana Jakovlejvic and Simon Ironside speak about plastic pollution and the process that will enable the accurate mapping and classification of floating plastic. Learn more about their developed world leading methodology to accurately extract floating plastic data (as small as 1.0 cm in length) from multi-spectral UAV images using artificial intelligence deep learning algorithms.

• April 2023 is a paper written by John Brock, Australia: The Surveyor Pirate of the Caribbean
  In this article John Brock takes you to the early days of the settlements in the USA together with land surveyor and architecht Barthelemy Lafon. The paper presents an excellent sample of surveys and edifices attributed to Lafon, along with tales of some of his raids of piracy. Fascinating... Learn and explore more about the host country of the FIG Working Week 2023

• March 2023 is a recording of the FIG Congress 2022 Keynote: Geospatial Excellence for a Better Living - Digitalisation and Modern Surveying and Cadastre in a Post-Covid19 Era in which Ewa Surma, Rumyana Tonchovska and Paweł Hanus take the audience through their undertakings and experiences during these past years with the Covid19 pandemic, how the transformation has been handled, and what learnings can be drawn from this.

• February 2023 is a both recording of the FIG Congress 2022 Keynote: Land Governance in support of the 2030 Global Agenda in which Stig Enemark and Paula Dijkstra speak about this topic and the article from Stig Enemark Responsible Land Governance and Secure Land Rights in Support of the 2030 Global Agenda.
  This session will unfold the concept of responsible land governance and the importance of including all land, people and land rights at a countrywide scale. Further, the session will align the concepts with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and how FIG supports the SDGs. The agenda provides us a roadmap towards a more sustainable world. Providing leadership as FIG, as professional and as a citizen on the SDGs will be of great added value. This session sets the scene how you can actively contribute to volunteering for the future for our profession, society and our planet at the same time.

• January 2023 is a recording of the FIG Congress 2022 Keynote: Urban Rural Partnership.
  Urban Rural Partnership is more urgent than ever in the light of an ongoing or even increasing urban rural divide in developed as well as in developing countries. Central elements are the need for comprehensive land policies, reflecting a priority on spatial and economic integration, and the importance of considering governance, infrastructure and local capacity. Join our two distinguished keynote speakers through the urban rural land linkages.